Shu Yan didn't go to Hu Ruixue's mother's house, but to her own home. Visiting the Hu family to offer New Year's greetings is different from offering New Year's greetings to Hu Ruixue.

“My parents aren’t monsters. My brother doesn’t even dare to show his face in front of you anymore, saying he’s afraid of scaring you,” Hu Ruixue said half-jokingly.

Shu Yan smiled but didn't respond. "Is Duoduo feeling any better than before?"

Hearing this, Hu Ruixue asked with some delight, "You discovered it? Last time I stayed abroad for more than a month, and that expert really had a way. Now she can understand some instructions, and she can even dress herself."

Seeing the tears in Hu Ruixue's eyes, Shu Yan pretended not to notice and gently patted Duoduo's head. When they first met, Duoduo wouldn't let her touch her, but now they can have physical contact.

"It will get better and better."

"I'll be content if I can hear her call me 'Mom' in my lifetime," Hu Ruixue said softly, hugging Duoduo.

After chatting for a few minutes, the two stopped talking about Duoduo. Hu Ruixue asked Shu Yan, "You and Fang Zeyu have been together for a while now, how's it going?"

Mentioning this, Shu Yan blushed. Last time Fang Zeyu accompanied her back to Xicheng, it was just the two of them, and she had already mentally prepared herself. Unexpectedly, Fang Zeyu was unusually well-behaved those few days. When he booked his plane ticket to return, his second sister happened to come to visit her, so they stayed in Xicheng for a few more days. Then, one night, Fang Zeyu and Shu Jianyang drank together and drank a bit too much. When Shu Yan was taking care of him, the two of them... well, they ended up together.

Hu Ruixue raised an eyebrow at her knowingly, "Eaten?"

"Hey, let's change the topic."

"What's wrong? You've already had a baby and you're still shy." Hu Ruixue rolled her eyes. "When did this happen? Tell us!"

Shu Yan glared at her, but still briefly explained what had happened.

"I originally thought you two would get together after knowing each other for only a few days, but I didn't expect it to take so long. Fang Zeyu is quite patient, but it also shows that he respects you. It seems that you are sure you want to go all the way with him." Hu Ruixue held up her wine glass and took a sip.

From the beginning, Shu Yan thought about the long term, and as they spent more time together, she realized that Fang Zeyu was a rare and wonderful man. Shu Yan felt that even in her original world, she might not have met someone like him.

Seeing Shu Yan's expression, Hu Ruixue knew what she was thinking and smiled, "If you've decided, then let's get together properly. When are you going to hold the wedding banquet? I'll give you a big red envelope."

Shu Yan has never really thought about getting married; she'll just let things take their course.

Besides Hu Ruixue, Shu Yan also visited Lao Zhang's house for the New Year. She said she was one of the shareholders and had hardly visited him last year. However, at the end of last year, Lao Zhang and his wife still gave her dividends according to her shares. Last year, the business was very good and they earned about 3 million yuan. Shu Yan received more than 600,000 yuan.

To be honest, Shu Yan felt guilty taking this money. It was different from Zhang Huaxiu's business. Zhang Huaxiu's shop was essentially Shu Yan's; she received half the shares without investing a penny, and she felt perfectly justified in taking the profits. But it was different with Lao Zhang. They had originally planned to collaborate with him on a batch of thermal underwear to make a profit. Even though they had enough capital, they insisted on giving Shu Yan a share—it was out of their conscience. However, Shu Yan really didn't have the energy to manage the factory; everything was handled by the couple. So, she wanted to sell her shares to Lao Zhang and withdraw from the factory.

The couple looked at each other in dismay when Shu Yan told them she was going to sell them her shares.

"Why are you suddenly quitting?" Old Zhang knew that Shu Yan was rich now, and a few days' income could be equivalent to their annual income. But who would complain about having too much money? She didn't have to do anything and could get dividends every year. Wasn't that good?

"The company is getting bigger and bigger, and I really don't have the energy to manage anything else." Shu Yan raised her hand to stop Lao Zhang from speaking, and laughed, "I'm not giving it to you. It's going to be calculated based on the factory's assets."

All things considered, this 20% stake was actually worth 500,000 yuan. Shu Yan and Lao Zhang signed the agreement, and Shu Yan took the money home.

I just got home and saw my aunt sitting in the living room. Isn't it a holiday? Why is my aunt here?

"Boss, my daughter said she found a job with double pay during her holiday and wouldn't be going back home. She said she'd be back on the first day of the Lunar New Year, but I haven't seen her since. I called the shop where she used to work, and they said she wasn't there at all. I'm so worried about her, so I rushed over overnight," the aunt said hurriedly when she saw Shu Yan.

"Have you gone to her school to look for her?" Shu Yan didn't expect her aunt to be looking for her daughter.

"I looked, but she's not here. I even went to her workplace, but I still haven't seen her. I... could something have happened to her?" the aunt asked anxiously.

"Don't worry, maybe she's at work and hasn't come back yet." Shu Yan could only try to comfort her aunt, then called Fang Zeyu and asked him to help look for her. After hanging up, Shu Yan remembered what Fang Zeyu had said and asked, "Aunt, try to think of where she might have gone, so we can find her more easily. Otherwise, Nancheng is so big, it's like looking for a needle in a haystack."

"Let me think, let me think." Auntie was truly panicked; her mind was completely blank. She clenched her fist and pounded her head. "Why can't I remember?"

"Don't panic, the more you panic, the more chaotic things will become. Take a deep breath and calm down. Don't worry, besides A-Yu, I've also asked Hu Ruixue to help you look for him. By the way, have you called the police?" Shu Yan was also very anxious because of her aunt.

At times like these, the eldest aunt became increasingly anxious and couldn't think of anything else.

"I called the police, I called the police, but they said it would take a certain number of hours." The aunt covered her face and sobbed.

Upon receiving Shu Yan's call, Fang Zeyu immediately sent someone to inquire at the place where his aunt's daughter often worked. He then set off for Shu Yan's home and, upon meeting his aunt, professionally inquired about his aunt's daughter's name, age, height, and physical characteristics.

"Yes, I don't even know your daughter's name. Do you have a photo? If you do, it might be more convenient." Shu Yan tapped her head, confused. She hadn't even asked these questions before sending someone to look for her.

“My daughter’s name is Li Shuyu. She’s 1.64 meters tall, a little thin, and has fair skin. Here’s a photo. Oh, right, we took a photo last year. I’ve always carried it with me.” The aunt hurriedly rummaged through her bag and handed the photo to Shuyan with trembling hands. “This photo was taken last year. This is my daughter. Boss, you have to help me. If anything happens to her, I won’t be able to go on living.”

If it weren't for her daughter's support all these years, she would have given up long ago.

"Ah Yu's people have already gone to look for them. I'm calling Ruixue now and asking her to help look for them too." Shu Yan could only say she would try her best to help. People have legs; who can stop them from leaving if they want to? She couldn't guarantee anything.

Fang Zeyu's people quickly relayed the news: Li Shuyu rarely went anywhere else besides going to school and working. She had two part-time jobs: one as a tutor, which the parents there said they had arranged with her before the Lunar New Year for her to return to school after the semester started; and the other as a worker at a coffee shop, which closed on the 29th of the Lunar New Year and would reopen on the 6th of the Lunar New Year.

Finally, she called the school teacher and inquired from various sources. She learned that one of her roommates had found a job and then introduced Li Shuyu to it.

"Found him. He said he works at a karaoke bar," Fang Zeyu whispered to Shu Yan after hanging up the phone.

A karaoke bar? Shu Yan was surprised that her aunt's daughter would work at a karaoke bar. It's not that working there makes a girl a bad girl, but from her aunt's words, she could tell that her daughter was very introverted and timid, and she shouldn't be working there at all.

Fang Zeyu nodded, glanced at his aunt who was still anxiously waiting for news, and asked Shu Yan if she should tell his aunt.

“That’s my aunt’s daughter, we definitely have to tell her,” Shu Yan decided immediately.

Upon learning that her daughter worked at a karaoke bar, the aunt swayed and shook her head absently, "Impossible, my Xiaoyu would never work in a place like that."

Fang Zeyu's cell phone rang. He glanced at Shu Yan, went to the balcony to answer the call, and came back after a while, saying, "We've found her, but she refuses to come with my men."

"I'll go find him." The aunt took a deep breath.

Shu Yan was worried about her aunt, so she asked Fang Zeyu to go with her.

I had heard my aunt mention her daughter, Shu Yan, many times, but this was the first time I met her. She had slightly curly hair, wore light makeup, a red sequined dress underneath a white fur coat, and high heels. She was completely different from the simple and pure daughter my aunt had described.

When Li Shuyu saw her mother, her lips trembled, but she couldn't say anything. In the end, she lowered her head and remained silent.

She said nothing, yet it broke her aunt's heart more than any words could have.

“Come on… come home with me.” The aunt grabbed Li Shuyu’s arm.

"Hey, who are you? Did you get my permission to take this person away?" A woman dressed in a flamboyant manner swayed over.

"Who am I? I'm her mother. Do I need your permission to take my daughter back?" The aunt looked at the woman with disgust and pulled her daughter away.

The woman clapped her hands, and four burly men appeared to block their way. "You know what, it really does require my permission." The woman chuckled, walked to Li Shuyu's side, glanced at her aunt, and said contemptuously, "If you don't believe me, ask your daughter. Without my permission, could she leave?"

The aunt looked at her daughter, "What do you mean?"

Li Shuyu kept her head down and remained silent.

“If she won’t say it, I will. She signed a contract with us and has to work here for three years. If she doesn’t, she’ll have to take her away immediately with a 100,000 yuan penalty.”

"You liars! You said you were signing a temporary work contract, but it wasn't!" Li Shuyu, who had been keeping her head down, suddenly burst out.

Li Shuyu always knew that her mother had worked very hard to raise her. After she went to university, she tried her best to earn her own living expenses and worked part-time during summer and winter vacations in order to reduce her mother's burden. Two years ago, during winter vacation, her roommate told her that she had found a very good job that paid 10 yuan an hour. She was a little confused at the time. What kind of job could pay so much? When she heard that she was working in a karaoke bar, she immediately refused.

Her roommate didn't give up, often telling her about the benefits of working at a karaoke bar, such as the hourly wage, corkage fees, and lots of tips—at least fifty a night. As for her concerns, her roommate said their karaoke bar was a legitimate place, and no one could take her away unless she wanted to. Since starting work, she hadn't gone out with anyone, only occasionally drinking. Li Shuyu had never seen her come home late or drunk; more importantly, she had seen her return with several hundred yuan on many occasions.

To be honest, she was tempted. So when her roommate invited her again this year, she agreed to come and give it a try.

For the first few days, just as her roommate had said, the karaoke bar was very orderly; people came simply to sing and listen to music. She only had to serve tea and water, occasionally help open a bottle of wine, and then she could earn a generous corkage fee. A few days later, their supervisor approached her and said that if she wanted to continue working there, she would have to sign a temporary contract. She read it very carefully at the time; the contract was very simple and there were no traps, so she signed it without hesitation. She never expected that there would be another piece of paper underneath the contract.

After hearing what had happened, Shu Yan understood that this was a shady establishment that specifically preyed on naive female students. Right now, they were just serving tea and water, but as time went on, they would gradually lure them into depravity.

"You're breaking the law! Release my daughter right now, or I'll call the police!" The aunt hugged her daughter, her eyes bloodshot.

"Breaking the law? How did we break the law? Ma'am, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want. The contract is written in black and white, and your daughter signed it herself. How did we break the law?" the woman said confidently.

"I had no idea Wang Xiaosan was so capable that he actually opened a shop like this?" Hu Ruixue said with a smile as she walked in.

The woman was taken aback by Hu Ruixue's words. Their boss's surname was Wang, and he was the third son in his family. His elders called him "Xiao San" (meaning "mistress"). In recent years, the term "Xiao San" has been gradually replaced by a certain negative term. Their boss hated this title more and more. Apart from his elders and a few people of higher status than him, no one else dared to call him "Xiao San," even if it contained the word "San."

"Do you know our boss?" the woman asked respectfully, her demeanor immediately changing.

"You mean Wang Xiaosan? I've met him a few times. Where is he? Tell him to come out."

The less Hu Ruixue took Wang Xiaosan seriously, the more respectful the woman became. She knew soon enough whether it was real or just bluffing. If it was bluffing, the boss would deal with the person who dared to call him "mistress" without her having to lift a finger.